"I thought we were meeting at the center?" I'm going to ignore the fact that Lucas apparently flashed himself into my apartment while I was sleeping. "Especially since it would give you at least half an hour more of sleep."

Instead of answering, Lucas continues preparing to cook breakfast. I guess he's too grumpy at being up so early to actually talk right now. Since he's busy doing that, I open up my dresser and pull out my outfit for today, then quickly change into it. It's way too cold here, the freezing temperatures biting at my skin. There's no heater for the building, and just buying a space heater would be expensive. Running one enough that the temperatures are tolerable?

It would probably be cheaper for me to move to an apartment building with a heating system.

Plopping myself onto the couch, I watch Lucas as he cooks. He's wearing a dark blue apron that I know isn't mine, which means he probably brought it with him to use, himself. Then he's wearing pants and a hoodie, definitely because it's cold here. In his grumpiness, why did he choose to go to a place that's much colder than his? Did he forget? Did it make him even grumpier?

Whatever the reason, I'm not going to oppose having a cute guy I know and trust making me breakfast, especially since Lucas is the kind of guy who would bring his own ingredients. I'm not entirely sure what he's making, but it seems like a lot of food.

Which is probably good. I've been feeling hungrier lately, which he's stated to be a result of becoming more active. My stomach was tiny because of the lack of food, and now that I'm eating, it's expanding as well on top of me needing more fuel.

Fifteen days. It's been fifteen days since I began training, since the Patron gave me the offer to become one of his elite warriors. I still feel inadequate, but after meeting with Isaac a couple of days ago, I know that there's still something to it. The Patron is still considering me for a spot among his warriors, and he really, really wants my power to teleport for something.

He probably would have made the offer to Lucas, had my trainer not held such a deep hatred for him. What sort of thing came up that put a rush on getting a teleporter? What other powers should I train for it?

"Lucas?" I dare to poke at him while he's grumpy. "Do you really think I should focus only on teleporting and martial arts as prep for this job?"

"Training center," he grunts.

"Are you saying to wait until we're at the training center?" I ask.

Lucas just grunts in response. I'll take that as a yes. He's much less talkative than last Wednesday. Was last Wednesday a fluke? Or does it have to do with him sleeping over, even if we didn't snuggle? I remember someone telling me that Lucas tends to be grumpy in the mornings when he's not getting laid. Does just sharing a bed with someone ease that up some?

"Alright," I respond, then jump as my phone goes off.

Rather than the shrill, annoying one I had for Hannah, this one's a much more tolerable, pleasant tone. My neighbors never complained after finding out why I had the original tone, since some of them do the same for their agents. A few of them even came to check on me recently because they'd noticed there wasn't that annoying sound for a few days to a couple of weeks, and actually congratulated me on finding a better agency.

Though I didn't share what the new agency is, since I don't know my neighbors well enough to know if directing them to a quality temp agency would be a good idea or not and I'd rather not have recommending a bad worker on my record.

Lucas gives me a curious look, and I answer the call.

"Good morning, Melody," I say.

He makes an 'ah' motion with his mouth, then returns to cooking. It smells really good, though I can't really tell what he's making.

"Good morning, Kieran, how are you?" She asks.

"Mildly amused," I try not to smile, since I know she'd be able to tell I am through my voice and I want a straight face for when Lucas turns around. "I woke up this morning to find someone had broken into my apartment and was cooking breakfast. I can't tell if it's just for them or if they're going to give me food, too, since it doesn't look like they're using any of my food for it."

Lucas turns around and gives me an annoyed look, and upon seeing my expression, grunts. I stick my tongue out at him.

"That sounds… definitely strange," she answers. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I chuckle. "It's my personal trainer. He's a morning grump and I think he's tired of hearing about how I screwed up this food or that."

I take a deep breath, and Melody probably hears at least a little, since she doesn't speak despite the pause. The breath is mostly a breath of courage, taken because even though I know Melody is different from Hannah, I dealt with a bad work placement agent for four years. Two weeks isn't enough to make my nerves go away.

"We're supposed to be hanging out this morning," I tell her. "He probably knows that if I mention my cooking failure before he becomes human again, it'd sour the hangout. My plan was just to do yogurt, to avoid having one to mention."

Lucas huffs in the kitchen, and I know I'm right.

"Okay!" She laughs. "I'll mark down that you're unavailable today."

She's not reacting the way that Hannah would. Please don't screw me over for this, especially with the other unavailable day this week.

"Also tomorrow," I tell her. "A new friend wants to hang out, and he and my trainer don't exactly get along, so they decided to hang out on different days."

"I can work with that," she tells me. "I know you're probably used to how the old agency did things, Kieran, but you don't have to worry over having to block out a day, as long as it's not something that essentially prevents our chances of placing you. In fact, it's better to let us know as soon as possible, so that we can mark it on our calendars and not call you those days as well as change our plans on who to offer what as needed."

"Sorry," I tell her. "I know you're not like her, it's just… four years of that. If I even tried saying it once, I'd likely get bad jobs or no jobs for a week or two. And I know others who got the same treatment from other agents. It's hard to get past that so fast."

"We don't do that here," she assures me. "We prefer it when our clients communicate their availability to us, as it makes it easier to do the things I mentioned. Before I go, are you still planning on the Saturday job?"

"Yes," I answer.

"Okay," she says. "Since it's a regular job, I won't be calling you on Saturday mornings unless the job is canceled. So make sure to mark down or whatever you need to do in order to remember."

"Zane trains at the center at the same time I do," I tell her. "He'll probably remind me the night before. And possibly call me in the morning to make sure I'm up. I'm going to take a picture on Saturday to show you the next time we meet."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Okay!" She laughs. "I'd like to see this horror they apparently want you to deal with every week."

"It's worse than it sounds," I say. "Thanks, Melody."

"No worries," she tells me. "Thanks for letting me know, and about tomorrow, too. I do have a potential job lined up for Friday, but I'll let you know then if it's still available or not."

She already has a potential job for me? Is that just her trying to assure me it's okay, or does she actually have one for Friday already?

"Okay," I say. "Talk to you later, Melody."

"Bye, Kieran," she says, then hangs up.

Lucas turns to say something to me, only for my phone to ring with a cheerful and upbeat tone. The grump gives me an annoyed look, probably because he got interrupted. This is the ringtone I set for Danny when we exchanged numbers after my shift yesterday, picked because he's such a cheerful and upbeat guy.

"Morning, Danny," I say, and Lucas sighs, then returns to cooking. I shift around so that I'm lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "Something got you excited this early?"

"Yeah!" Danny answers. "They finally gave chain-boy a nickname in the news!"

"Really?" I ask. "What's his nickname?"

"Lumilxal!" He answers. "It's surprising that they nicknamed him this early, you know!"

"Lumilxal?" I ask. "Why's it surprising they nick'd him this early? It's been five nights, right?"

"Well, yeah," Danny says. "Thing is, I was only able to hear about him because of the net. He's not actually hit the news outlets themselves. That usually means that the authorities don't actually like that particular vigilante."

"So there's a sudden turn?" I ask.

"Maybe," he answers. "Thing is, there also wasn't any footage to go with him initially. Normally, when a new vigilante who might actually be working with the government shows up, the news outlets have footage of them."

"But they didn't for Lumilxal," I say. "You think that he made his debut early?"

"It may not have even been that, Kier!" Danny exclaims. "See, I managed to find a first-hand account of his original appearance. He was wearing a hoodie, sweatpants, and mask."

"Which isn't vigilante gear," I say.

"Nope," he says. "And from other accounts and statements I could track down, that's what he wore the next three times."

He really goes for it when he researches vigilantes, doesn't he?

"So his first four appearances," I say. "He was wearing casual gear. Now he's outfitted in something more like a vigilante? It probably took him a few days to put together an outfit that's better for it. But that doesn't explain the sudden switch in the media."

"Unless," he says. "The government managed to track him down and they supplied the gear."

"Holding my phone like this is annoying," I tell him. "I'm moving you to speakerphone."

"Alright!"

I switch it over and put the phone on the table, taking the opportunity to look at Lucas, who is still making breakfast. Turning my attention back to the ceiling, I let Danny know the call's been switched.

"Okay," Danny says. "So it's weird that the media wasn't covering him, then they suddenly did, right?"

"Yeah," I say. "From what I know, the media tends to either cover or not cover, and sometimes stop covering. If they do start covering someone, it's usually well into their career as a vigilante."

My guess is that the ones the media will actually cover are the ones Sivalshi employs. Those they stop covering likely ended their contracts with him, while those they start covering after awhile probably ended up working for him after awhile.

"So what I think happened," Danny tells me. "Is that Lumilxal's first event? The one the night before you came to work at the restaurant to cover for his first victims? I think that was actually a chance encounter!"

"You got the first description from those idiots, didn't you?" I ask.

"Yeah," he answers. "Anyway, so what if that's true? What if Lumilxal's first appearance was just him seeing a crime-in-progress and put a stop to it?"

"Rather than being a professional," I say. "Realizing he might get into trouble, he left as soon as the police came to take them away."

"Yeah," Danny says. "And then once he calmed down, he realized he liked it. So he went off searching for more, but in a different area. New vigilantes who don't normally get covered tend to travel, looking for a place they feel comfortable in."

"You think," I say. "That the next three nights, he was giving it a try. Then last night?

"I think yesterday," he says. "The government managed to track him down and asked him to be more official. Why else would they suddenly start covering him? An assurance he won't get into trouble, and maybe even the new outfit that he was sporting last night!"

That's actually a plausible theory. The Patron does employ vigilantes, which means the media coverage is probably on them rather than the ones he doesn't. So the Patron liked this vigilante, gave it a few days to see if the guy was serious about it, then probably offered him a position as an official vigilante. He may have even supplied Lumilxal with the gear.

With vigilantes, the Patron probably doesn't wait as long as he does the Sivalshi Guardians.

"You know," I say. "That actually sounds plausible to me."

"Plausible?" He snorts. "The guy's wearing a freaking spellsuit, Kier. One that's not in any records, which means it's new."

"What do you mean, 'in any records'?" I ask.

"You don't know about the spellsuit directory?" He asks.

"Uh… no."

"Oh!" I can hear his grin. "Well, there's a directory of every known spellsuit appearance in the last two and a half centuries or so. Vigilante, bodyguard, private, or even Sivalshi Guardians. They're all recorded. Did you know that the suits for Sivalshi Guardians change? I'm not talking the general style, I mean an individual's. No one's really figured out what determines when they change, but it can change several times throughout the course of their career. There's one whose outfit changed more than fifty!"

"That's… impressive," I say. "So it's like picking a different outfit?"

"No," he answers. "Once it changes, it's that until the next change occurs. It's usually a buildup, too. A slight alteration, then another slight one. Usually leaving the previous changes in effect. So a grey cowl might turn blue at one point, then gain a white streak on it."

I'll ask Isaac at the party what that's about, but something tells me it might just be the Patron making the changes on a whim.

"Huh," I say. "So anyway, you're saying this isn't a spellsuit someone had lying around that Lumilxal found or bought, but one that was actually made for him?"

"Yep," Danny says. "And who but the government could get one made so fast?"

The Patron, but his vigilantes probably count as government vigilantes, so it's essentially the same thing.

"Breakfast," Lucas says, and I look over to find him standing on the other side of the coffee table, two plates full of food and two cups full of milk resting on it.

"Who's that?" Danny's voice turns sly. "Got a boyfriend, Kier?"

"It's my trainer," I tell him as I sit up. "He's trying to make sure I'm actually eating a healthy diet to optimize my training. He broke into my apartment while I was sleeping just to do this."

"Awesome!" Danny laughs. "Hey, want to hang out in the next couple of days? I have the mornings off."

"I have a job on Saturday," I tell him. "And a potential job on Friday. I'm supposed to be hanging out with someone tomorrow…"

Danny and Zane would probably get along well.

"But I'll see if he wouldn't mind you joining us," Zane might want alone time, but he might be more comfortable with someone else along since he wants to wait on that until I'm more used to things and he's used to taking care of things alone. "Anyway, Lucas is giving me a death glare, so I should probably start eating."

Wait. Is this a freaking feast? No wonder it took him so long!

"See ya!" Danny says, then the call ends.

"You have a friend who's into those conspiracies?" Lucas asks. "I thought you said you didn't have any friends?"

"He's the manager from the restaurant I worked at the last few days," I tell him. "We decided to keep in touch. Danny's also a huge fan of vigilantes and the guardians, so I don't think I'll be hanging out with the two of you at the same time."

"Suits me," he plops himself down on the couch. "I doubt the government actually works with vigilantes. They probably only decided to cover him because he's in a spellsuit now rather than whatever he had before. Let's eat. Then I'll tell you what our movie options are and what theaters we can get to in time."

How would Lucas react if he knew that many vigilantes are? It's a shame I can't reveal that to him, the Patron definitely covers that stuff up. I tested it just to see, and found it true: the Patron actually does prevent people from learning certain things. While I could say it just fine, they either didn't hear it or thought I was just referring to the theory.

At least Lucas didn't try to turn this into an argument over the Patron. He probably would have, before I snapped at him the other day. So I'll take that as a win. Maybe in a month or two, Lucas might actually be receptive to the idea.

"Also," Lucas says. "There are only a couple of movies to pick from. Nearly everything playing nearby this morning is horror or romance."